CapWrapp
Get started

Free tool · Guideline 4.2 self-audit

Will Apple reject your app as just a website?

It can. Apple’s Guideline 4.2 (Minimum Functionality) is the usual reason a wrapped web app is rejected: the app has to offer more than your website does in Safari. Answer six questions to see where your app stands, and get a prompt that fixes the weak spots. It is a self-audit, not a verdict — nobody outside App Review can promise approval.

  • Free, no signup
  • Runs in your browser
  • Nothing stored
  • Updated

Answer honestly — “Not sure” counts as risk

0/6

  1. 1.Could someone get the same experience by opening your site in Safari or Chrome?

    If the app is a bookmark to your website, Apple can reject it as a website in an app.

  2. 2.Do people actually use device features in the UI (camera, share, push, haptics, files) — not just unused packages?

    Listing @capacitor/camera in package.json does not count. A shopper has to tap it.

  3. 3.If people sign in, does that work inside the app (not “continue in browser”)?

    OAuth that bounces to Safari and never returns feels like a website, not an app.

  4. 4.Does the UI feel like an app (tabs, splash, safe areas, mobile navigation) rather than a squeezed desktop site?

    Tiny desktop nav, hover-only controls, or a “view in browser” banner are review smells.

  5. 5.Will the App Store listing describe a real product on a phone — not “our website, now an app”?

    Screenshots of a desktop site and copy that only mentions a URL are a 4.2 tell.

  6. 6.Is there a reason this belongs on a home screen besides being a shortcut to the website?

    Offline records, camera capture, notifications, or a phone-first workflow all count. A bookmark does not.

Your score appears when all 6 questions are answered.

What Guideline 4.2 says

Apple’s App Review Guidelines ask that an app include “features, content, and UI that elevate it beyond a repackaged website”. In practice, reviewers reject apps that behave like a bookmark: the same pages as the site, desktop navigation, links that bounce to Safari, and nothing that needs to live on a phone.

Rejections usually cite 4.2 or 4.2.2 (Minimum Functionality), sometimes together with 2.1 (App Completeness) when the reviewer cannot sign in.

What reviewers look for

  • Something a browser cannot do. Camera capture, the share sheet, push notifications, haptics, offline data, files on the device.
  • An app-shaped interface. Bottom tabs or a clear stack of screens, safe areas around the notch, no hover-only controls, no “open in browser” banners.
  • Sign-in that stays in the app. OAuth that ends on a web page and never comes back looks like a website.
  • A listing that describes an app. Phone screenshots and copy about what people do on the phone — not “our website, now on the App Store”.

Unused plugins do not count. Listing @capacitor/camera in package.json changes nothing if no screen uses it.

Other rejections wrapped web apps run into

4.2 is the big one, but wrapped apps often trip these too:

  • Sign in with Apple (4.8) — if the app offers Google or Facebook login, it generally has to offer an equivalent privacy-focused option as well. Sign in with Apple qualifies.
  • Account deletion (5.1.1) — if people can create an account in the app, they must be able to delete it from inside the app.
  • In-app purchase (3.1.1) — digital content and subscriptions sold in the app generally go through Apple’s In-App Purchase. Rules for external payment links vary by country.
  • Demo account (2.1) — if the app needs a login, give App Review working credentials in App Store Connect.

How CapWrapp fits

CapWrapp turns the GitHub repo into a signed app, uploads it to TestFlight, and sends the build you pick to App Review. It does not invent native features or argue 4.2 for you — the audit’s fix prompt is how you add them. Already rejected? Paste the message into the rejection explainer — it has a page for Guideline 4.2 and every other rejection wrapped apps hit. The store forms after the binary are the App Store submission checklist. Check the code side with the Lovable, Bolt or Base44 checker, then open CapWrapp.

FAQ

Questions people ask before they ship

What is Apple Guideline 4.2?

It is the Minimum Functionality rule in Apple’s App Review Guidelines. An app must offer more than a repackaged website — features, content and an interface that make sense as an app. Wrapped web apps that only show the website are rejected under it.

Will this tell me Apple will approve my app?

No. Nobody outside App Review can promise that. This is a self-audit of the patterns reviewers cite in 4.2 rejections, with a fix for each one.

Is adding Capacitor plugins enough?

Only if people use them. A plugin in package.json that no screen calls changes nothing. Reviewers test the app, not the dependency list.

My app was rejected under 4.2. What now?

Read the reviewer’s note, fix the specific gaps — usually phone features, mobile navigation and the listing — then reply in App Store Connect or submit a new build. The prompt from this audit is a good starting list.

Does Google Play have the same rule?

Not word for word. Google Play’s spam and minimum functionality policy is looser, but it also rejects apps that crash, barely work, or only show a webview of a site the developer does not own.

Free tools

Run the next check

All free tools

From checked to shipped

CapWrapp turns your GitHub repo into iPhone and Android apps, signs every build, and ships it to TestFlight and Google Play — no Mac, no Xcode.

Get started free See how it works
  • Free to start
  • No credit card
  • Sign in with Google or GitHub